Shoppers for the best radar detector usually focus on radar-warning range. In town, range is less of an issue than false alarm-suppression. On the highway, though, long range can make the difference between getting nailed and driving ticket-free.

But only a few deliver the range to spot police radar soon enough. One is the Escort Redline; we found that under ideal conditions it can spot radar from 14.17 miles away, several miles more than the test runner-up. We also found that its sibling, the Escort RedlineXR, has even longer range, not to mention quicker reactions and fewer false alarms.

What gives the Escort Redline its long range is advanced technology, a clever design and premium components. It's one of the few windshield-mounted detectors with dual radar antennas, for example. In the Redline both are forward-facing, a move to heighten sensitivity and increase detection range.

The Escort Max 360 and Valentine One (V1) antennas point fore and aft instead, allowing them to depict the direction of an incoming radar beam.

The directional arrows no doubt help to spur sales, but they received mixed reviews in a long-term test.

Escort targets the sophisticated road warrior with the Redline. The housing is matte-black and there are no chrome buttons or eye-catching graphics on top to reflect an annoying mirror image into the windshield on sunny days.

The Escort Redline has an LED display that's inset into the case, shielded from the sun and easily read. We found it far superior to the OLED display found in some other Escort models.

The Redline is controlled by three switches, for power, sensitivity and audio volume. These are red-backlit to make them easier to locate at night. A menu of user preferences includes Spec mode, which displays a radar signal's digital frequency. This enables a savvy driver to tell at glance when a Ka-band alert is a false alarm. Some 48 state police agencies use this frequency, making Ka band by far the most critical.

There's a way to add GPS, a system called Escort Live. The package includes a special Escort Live coiled SmartCord with built-in Bluetooth. The other key component is an iPhone or Android smartphone loaded with the free Escort Live app.

The system uses the smartphone's GPS and also allows the phone to control the detector and display its alerts. Nuisance radar signals can be locked out, reducing false alarms. Real-time Escort Live alerts can warn of nearby speed traps.

The Escort Redline focuses on long-range warning of radar, and this includes photo radar vans. In several tests against the most common models of these photo cameras—one from Redflex Traffic Systems, the other from American Traffic Solutions. It led the pack in both tests.

We tested against conventional radar at our 15-mile-long desert site. Here the Escort Redline delivered 14.17 miles of radar-warning range, a record eclipsed only by the remarkable Escort RedlineXR.

One of the two best-performing windshield-mount models we've tested, the Escort Redline remains a premier tool for the serious driver looking to avoid speeding tickets.